Connecting means for launching and recovery of water-borne craft from and to ships



June 6, 1961 c, H RREsHo 2,986,750 CONNECTING MEANS FOR LAUNCHING ANDRECOVERY OF WATER-BORNE CRAFT FROM AND TO SHIPS Filed Sept. 28, 1959 2Sheets-Sheet 1 z 9 6 4 9 w a @6 2 8 0 6 6 9 8 4 n 4 4 3 7 5 J 6 8 566 6O 0 45 6 n a a n 1 w ATTORNEY June 6, 1961 c. D. HERRESHOFF 2,986,750

CONNECTING MEANS FOR LAUNCHING AND RECOVERY OF WATER-BORNE CRAFT FROMAND TO SHIPS Filed Sept- 28, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.2

' INVEN TOR. CLARENCE D. HERRESHOFF ATTORNEY United States PatentCONNECTING MEANS FOR LAUNCHING- AND v The invention described herein maybe manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United Statesof America for governmental purposes without the payment of anyroyalties thereon or the efor.

This invention relates to the launching and recovery of water-bornecraft from and to ships and more particularly to automatic engaging anddisengaging means therefor.

The particular problem of the launching and recovery of water-bornecraft from and to ships in rough water is one of considerable diflicultywhen current methods are employed. For example, a considerable amount ofmanual operation is necessary in engaging and disengaging the shiplifting hook to or from the lifting link connected to the boat to belaunched or recovered, thus resulting in unnecessary delays and imposinga severe hazard on the men assigned -to the task, Similar difliculty isencountered in attaching and detaching the crane hook when heavymaterial is being transferred between a boat in a seaway and a fixedstructure such as a Texas Tower.

When a boat is to be recovered on rough water or high seas, tremendousstresses may be encountered by the ship lifting mechanism and by theboat resulting in structural damage to the latter. This fault is dueprimarily to the inability of personnel in attaching the lifting hook tothe boat hoisting sling on the crest of a Wave by conventional means. Iftheattachment is made while the boat is below a wave crest, the boatwill be lifted on the next crest and thereby overriding the slow-movingship hoisting mechanism and causing a slackening of the boat hoistingsling. Passage of the wave crest then causes the boat to fall abruptlywith possible damage to the boat and hoisting sling.

Accordingly, it is a broad object of this invention to provide improvedapparatus which will enable boats to be recovered or launched withgreater facility and safety than has heretofore been possible.

Another object of the invention is to provide novel and automaticconnecting means between the ship lifting hook and the'lifting linkwhereby automatic engagement and disengagement thereof. will beeffected.

A Still further. object of the invention is to provide automat cw ueqi gmeans between the ship lifting hook and lifting link whereby thelaunching or recovery of the boat from or to" the ship may beaccomplished with a minimum of manual labor and a maximum element of y-Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this inventionwill be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood byreference to the following detailed description when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings in which like referencenumerals designate like parts throughout the figures thereof andwherein:

FIG. 1 is a view in elevation of a vessel having hoisting apparatusmodified by improvements of the present invention and a lifting linkwith cooperating structure; and

FIGS. 2 and 3 are enlarged detailed views of a portion of the improvedconnecting means of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a section taken along line 44 of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1, the boom is mounted for up and down and for limitedlateral swinging movement by Patented June 6, 1961 2- means of agooseneck connection 12 mounted to the upstanding mast or King post 14,it being understood 'that a. plurality of such posts or masts may bebonstructedffor suitably supporting the boom. A dock, or ship structure,for example, shown generally at 16 supportsv the postv 14 byconventional methods. A winch house, not shown, located adjacent themast 14 provides a protective housing for the various winches employedin the invention;

At its upper or outer end the boom 10 is supported by a topping-lift 22,of conventional cable or rope; which is passed over a guide sheave 24,swingably mounted adjacent the upper portion of mast 14. Thetopping-lift 22 isanchored at its outer end in one of the' spacedeyelets 26-126 of a headband mounted on the outermost portion of boom10, while its other or running end is carried downwardly to a brakewinch '28, or a screw or ratchet type winch may be used equally well,sothat the toppinglift cable length can be adjusted to'dispos'e the boomat a desired angle. The brake 'winch 28"is operated by a motor (notshown)contained'within the winch house.

Through the other eyelet 26 is becketed one end 'of a load line, hoistcable or boat fall 30. The running portion of this fall 30 is led'downwardly through a sheave 32 and then upwardly to another sheave 34mounted inwardly of the headband on boom 10andis led through guidesheave 36 disposed below shea've 24 on the mast 14 and then downwardlyto a hoisting winch 38. also located in the winch house. i I

A landing craft or boat 50, for example, has the conventionalhook-shaped supporting members 52-52, for receiving releasable hooks,not shown, but depending from each strand of the double hoisting sling54, as shown, for example, in Patent No. 389,410; issued September 11,1888, to C. F. Rodin. This patent discloses releasable hooks C dependingfrom a block and tackle assembly and received by cooperatinghooksattach'ed to a life boat. The other or upper endsare articulated toa closed lifting link 56 through suitable permanent connections made toan equalizing thimble 58 slidably depending therefrom. It should beunderstood, of course, that the hoisting sling may be slidably directlyconnected to the'closed lifting link 56 by any suitable means. i

Referring now to each of the figures, the closed lifting link 56comprises a metal rod bent into a' flat-oval configuration, altho othersuitable shapes may be used equally well, and is provided at itslower'portion'witli'a' support plate 60 rigidly mounted therein and;partaking of any convenient shape, and to which is welded a transversearm 64 having opposed link hooks 66 and 68, both of which have theiropenings facing seaward, their operation to be described hereinafter.

The sheave 32 of the, load line. 30 has a strap. 70. in tegrallyfastened therewith from which a crane orlifting Q 2 fi y pend L t n book72; has a generally Straight r g l bill @115 a s a ewa fifi is providedbetween the lower portion ofthe hogk Z2 29d intermediate the ends of thevertical bill 74 permitting the attachment of one end of a hookmessenger line 78 thcrethrough which is then reeved through a movableblock 80 having a shackle 82, the other end of the hook messenger lineterminating in a hook or quick coupling device 90. The shackle 82 of themovable block 80 is connected either to link hook 66 or link hook 68depending upon whether the launching or recovery of boat 50 is desired,the quick coupling device being received by a winch messenger line 92through a large eye 94 attached thereto. The messenger lines 78 and 92provide a guiding line between the suspended hook 72 and the tensioningwinch 100. Winch messenger line 92 is reeved through a sheave 96,supported from boom 10 by means of a bracket 98 affixed thereon. Thewinch messenger line has its running end disposed in position to be 3taken in or payed out by a reversible tensioning winch 100 located inthe winch house and controlled by a motor, not shown. Tensioning winch100 is designed and adjusted for a pull slightly in excess of thatneeded 'to raise the weight of the double hoisting sling assembly. Whenthis pull is exceeded, the winch messenger line 92 .pays outautomatically. With the winch control set for tensioning, the pull ortension on line 92 remains virtually constant irrespective of the lineremaining stationary, hauling in or paying out. Further, winch 100 iscapable of hauling in or paying out a slack line at controlled speeds.

In operation, let it be assumed that the boat 50 is to -be hoisted fromthe sea for nest-ing within its chocks on ship 16, for example. Outboardmovement of the boom is effected by means of any suitable power device,its elevation being adjustable by paying out or retrieving thetopping-lift in proper relation with respect to the boat to berecovered, the lifting hook 72 facing inboard throughout. After bothmessenger lines have been lowered to the boat 50, the hook messengerline 78, including the hook 90, is passed through the opening of theclosed ,lifting link 56 in a direction towards the ship 16, as shown 'inFIG. 2, the shackle 82 being connected with link hook '100, until thedouble hoisting sling cables 54 are sufliciently taut but yet permittingboat 50 to rise and fall in accordance with the wave formations. Thesame winch operator, through hoisting winch 38, then lowers lifting hook72 slowly. As lifting book 72 is lowered, the double hoisting sling 54remains in its taut condition by means of the tensioning action of theautomatic tensioning winch .100. Since the link hooks are fixedlymounted adjacent the lower portion of the closed lifting link 56, anyupward pressure on link hook 66 will tend to dispose the lifting link tothe left, as shown in FIG. 2, and to slidably contact the generallyvertical bill 74 of hook 72. As the boat 50 is raised by the crest of awave, the closed lifting link slips over the bill of the lowered liftinghook automatically engaging it. The winch operator immediately -reversesthe hoisting winch and recovery of the boat is I accomplished. It shouldbe understood, of course, that the hoisting is begun immediately afterengagement of 'the lifting link with the lifting hook, thus preventingthe boat from becoming water-borne on the crest of the next wave.

The launching of the boat 50 is accomplished in a manner generallysimilar to its recovery. Before the boat 50 is raised from her chocks,the messenger lines are coupled as described heretofore but the shackle82 of the movable block 80 is now connected to link hook 68, as shown inFIG. 3. As the lifting hook is lowered, the messenger lines are taut,the winch messenger line paying out taut and being insufiicientlytensioned to cause any hoisting of the boat. After the boat becomessufficiently water-home upon lowering of the crane hook, the crest ofthe next succeeding wave will cause the boat to be raised, and, sincethe lifting link is tilted to the right, to automatically disengageitself from the hook bill and permitting the boat to rise and recedewith the wave formation.

Although in the specification and the accompanying drawings there isshown and described one embodiment of the invention, it is to beunderstood that the single embodiment is not to be exhaustive norlimiting of the invention but is given for purposes of illustration inorder that others skilled in the art may fully understand the inventionand the principles thereof and manner of applying the same in practicaluse in accordance with the varying conditions of those uses.

What is claimed is:

1. In apparatus for launching sea craft on the sea surface andrecovering it therefrom and comprising a lifting hook of a slingattached to the sea craft and a suspended hook arranged to be loweredtoward and raised from said lifting hook, the improvement whichcomprises a transverse arm fixed to and extending through the liftinghook, said arm providing a pair of downwardly extending hook portions,one of said hook portions being positioned on one side of the liftinghook and the other hook portion being positioned on the other side ofthe lifting hook, a guiding line having one end connected to the billportion of the suspended hook and its other end portion connected totensioning means, an upper fixed pulley and a lower movable pulleyinterposed in said line between its ends, said movable pulley having ashackle attached thereto for reception in one of the hook portions ofthe transverse arm when the craft is to be launched on the sea surfaceand for reception in the other of the hook portions of the transversearm when the craft is to be recovered from the sea surface.

2. The improvement in claim 1 further characterized by the bill portionof the suspended hook having a vertical outer face providing a means forguiding the lifting hook into engagement with the suspended hook astension on the guiding line is increased.

3. The improvement in claim 1 further characterized by said guiding linebeing formed of two sections, each section terminating between saidfixed andmovable pulleys and providing therebetween a quick couplingconnection.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS563,174 Hillyer June 30, 1896 2,418,111 Dahlander Apr. 1, 1947 2,552,758Andersen May 15, 1951 2,676,834 Grazier Apr. 27, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS1,104,012 France June 8, 1955

